Chapter 11
Ruth started awake from the chair next to the bed in which she was dozing, and for a moment was slightly disoriented. As the haze of sleep began to clear, she realized she had been awakened by the sound of labored breathing and soft cries. She looked toward Harry and saw him struggling for breath. Ruth jumped from the chair and held him by the arms.
"Harry? My God, Harry!"
He was shaking violently, and by his depressed respiration, Ruth knew she had to take action and fast. Wasting no time, she grabbed her cell phone and called 999…
"Has there been any response from Ruth, Tariq?"
"No, she is picking up neither cell nor home phone."
Lucas picked up his jacket and looked over at Beth. "Come on, let's get over there and find out what the hell's going on…"
Ruth watched helplessly as Harry was taken out of her house on a gurney and put into an ambulance. She hopped into the back of it with the paramedics, not waiting to be invited. Harry, eyes wide in fear for his life, reached out for her. Ruth grabbed his hand and sat on the bench next to the EMT who was putting electrodes on Harry's chest. The other was hanging an IV.
"Is he allergic to anything?" The first paramedic demanded.
"I-I don't know…"
"Has he taken any new medications in the past hour or eaten anything unusual?"
"He's had morphine, 20 mg, about," she looked at her watch not knowing how long she'd dosed off, "Erm, about 20 minutes ago…"
"Has he ever had an allergic reaction to it?"
"I don't think so, no" Ruth replied, squeezing Harry's hand tightly in her own.
"Has he had anything else? Anything over-the-counter?"
Ruth thought, and then remembered, "Amoxicillin. He had a shot of 500mg intramuscular about the same time as the morphine."
"Is he allergic to that?"
"N-not that I know of..."
The paramedic turned to Harry who was struggling for every breath. "Sir, are you allergic to amoxicillin?"
"Pen…peni…cillan," Harry struggled to answer.
"Same difference," the paramedic muttered. He hit a button connecting him to the hospital trauma room with the doctor in charge. "Rescue 26 enroute with male victim, approximately 60 years of age, in anaphylactic shock from penicillin derivative allergy. Victim has had 500 mg of amoxicillin and 20 mg morphine within the hour. BP is 75 over 50 and dropping, difficulty with respiration and swelling of the tongue has begun. ETA to TMH is 6 minutes. Request permission to intubate and inject one amp epi intravenously…"
Ruth couldn't breathe. She had given him the amoxicillin – how could she not have known he was allergic to it? She fought the tears that were welling up in her eyes, as she felt his hand squeezing hers harder. She met the pressure of his equally, but before she could say anything to him, Harry stopped breathing.
TBC